Wine, etc.: Understand the dangers of mixing wine and driving

Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly, syndicated wine column since 1985. See their blog at moreaboutwine.com. They can be reached at marq1948@gmail.com.

Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly, syndicated wine column since 1985. See their blog at moreaboutwine.com. They can be reached at marq1948@gmail.com. (Staff / Capital Gazette)

Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr

Wine, etc.: Understand the dangers of mixing wine and driving

See if this sounds familiar: you and your spouse go out for a nice dinner after a hectic week and order a bottle of wine. You relax, wax a little romance and enjoy a gourmet meal out on the town.

You pay your hefty bill with a contented smile, head for the door and your wife asks, "Are you OK to drive?"

"You bet," you respond confidently as others have before you. Surely there is little alcohol left in your system after drinking several glasses of wine with food over a couple of hours. Besides, you feel totally alert.

You safely drive home without incident. But you wonder: Would I have passed a breathalyzer test if pulled over by the police?

Chances are that this thought has crossed your mind more than once — it should. But there may be some relief for those of you who live in perpetual fear about feeling sober after consuming a moderate amount of alcohol but being drunk in the eyes of the law.

If you are responsible and if you honor your limitations, most of you can drink in moderation without fear of jail. Read on.

Tom and his wife regularly order a bottle of wine with dinner. On a recent night Tom decided to check his alcohol content using a portable breathalyzer. Manufactured by AK GlobalTech, the AlcoMate Revo ($250) uses a pre-calibrated replaceable intelligent sensor module that makes it as accurate on the first day as the 500th day.

While other systems have a mail-back calibration that is required to maintain accuracy, this system has a spare sensor module so that users don't have to wait for the first one to be recalibrated by a lab. It's state of the art and used professionally in the field, but the results are not necessarily admissible in court — even most police-administered breathalyzer results are used only to determine probable cause and they measure alcohol in breath, not blood.

The AlcoMate is not reliable until 20 minutes after you have finished drinking and eating. Although most diners leave the table as soon as their glasses are empty, it may take as long as 20 minutes before you are administered an official blood-alcohol test anyway. Nonetheless, used correctly, the device will give you a reliable indication of how your body metabolizes alcohol when consumed with or without food. It's a reality check we wish more people could perform.

While at home, Tom consumed 15 ounces — a little more than half of the bottle of wine — over a 90-minute period and with substantial food. He is 6-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. About 30 minutes later — 10 more minutes than the mandatory wait period — his alcohol level measured .045 percent on the AlcoMate. That's comfortably below the .08 percent level every state has adopted for driving under the influence.

Many states, however, have an additional driving while impaired charge that allows for a lower blood alcohol content.

In Maryland, for instance, the BAC level for DWI is .071 to .079 percent — still above Tom's AlcoMate result. Furthermore, it should be noted that drivers under the age of 21 can be charged if they have any alcohol in their blood.

As if this isn't enough to worry about, Maryland law says that even a lower BAC result, between .051 and .079 percent, can be used against you in court if there is another charge, such as reckless driving, to show impairment. There is good reason to think twice before getting behind the wheel.

At levels below .05 percent, the law creates an assumption the driver is not under the influence. In short, Tom was in the clear.

Everyone absorbs alcohol differently because of their weight, body fat and ability to metabolize alcohol. Even if your weight to similar to Tom's, your result may not be the same. Plus, all drinks are not equal — a double shot of tequila in that margarita will have a greater impact than a 4-ounce glass of wine.

There are additional laws that vary from state to state in regards to drivers who are under 21 and who are driving a commercial vehicle. You should check your state's laws on line.

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Langways All American Sports Bar and Grill serves family friendly pub food in Crofton.

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Langways All American Sports Bar and Grill serves family friendly pub food in Crofton.

Langways All American Sports Bar and Grill serves family friendly pub food in Crofton.

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Heroes Pub in Annapolis is featured in the Dining Out Review.

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Capiche Street Food Italiano opened in October in Severna Park.

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The Ferndale United Methodist Church, in partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church, held their 16th annual Free Thanksgiving Day Dinner Thursday, November 23, 2017. The church serves 75-100 meals on site and delivers around another 400 meals to seniors and others in the area and Baltimore City, who can not make it to the church.

The Ferndale United Methodist Church, in partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church, held their 16th annual Free Thanksgiving Day Dinner Thursday, November 23, 2017. The church serves 75-100 meals on site and delivers around another 400 meals to seniors and others in the area and Baltimore City, who can not make it to the church.

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Mi Lindo Cancun Grill in Annapolis serves authentic Mexican dishes.

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A few WebMD guidelines about alcohol consumption:

•Generally, a person can metabolize about one 4-ounce. glass of wine in an hour. There are plenty of charts on line that provide guides on alcohol consumption over time.

•About a fifth of alcohol is absorbed by the stomach; the rest is absorbed by the small intestine. If alcohol is consumed with food, absorption is completed between one and three hours. Food does make a difference.

•Alcohol is absorbed faster in water than fat, so an obese person is more likely to show the effects of alcohol than a thin person of the same weight but smaller height. Since women generally have more fat than men, they absorb alcohol slower.

You may be fine if you and your wife split a bottle of wine over a two-hour dinner and follow the speed limit home, but those raucous parties across town can get you into trouble. Declaring a designated driver before you start drinking is always a wise idea and if that fails, get a ride home.